MS in Materials Engineering

Admission

Applicants to the Master of Science in materials engineering graduate degree should meet the following admission requirements:

  1. A four-year minimum bachelor’s degree in a related engineering, materials science, chemistry, physics or geological sciences program, or other closely related discipline, as approved by the program. Related engineering fields include: materials, metallurgical, mineral, mechanical, aerospace, manufacturing, biomedical, chemical, process, industrial, electrical and computer engineering.
  2. Cumulative bachelor’s grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.000 on a 4.000 scale, or international equivalent.
  3. All Graduate School admission requirements.

Depending upon the applicant's undergraduate education, additional undergraduate courses may be needed to complete any deficiencies and prepare them for the materials engineering graduate program. Prerequisite coursework will be identified at the point of admission. Those prerequisite courses must be completed by the time the plan of study is to be filed and may not be counted toward degree requirements. Applicants requiring more than five prerequisite courses will not be considered for admission.

Program Requirements

The MS in materials engineering curriculum is designed to give students maximum flexibility to tailor courses to their professional goals. Specifically, students must complete at least 9 credit hours (three courses) from the set of core courses listed in the table below. In addition, students must take 24 credit hours (typically corresponding to eight additional courses) from the union of core and technical elective course sets. Core courses will typically be offered once a year, and technical elective courses will be offered every two years. As a course-only master’s program, no comprehensive exit examination is required for completion of the degree.

MS in Materials Engineering Curriculum

Core Courses

Course Title Hours
AE 753Mechanics of Laminated Composites3
BME 771Polymer Processing and Technology3
BME 777Biodegradable Materials3
IME 775Computer Integrated Manufacturing3
IME 788Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing3
ME 665Selection of Materials for Design and Manufacturing3
ME 670Introduction to Nanotechnology3
ME 672
672L
Manufacturing of Composites
and Manufacturing of Composites Lab
3
ME 762Polymeric Composite Materials3

Technical Elective Courses

Course Title Hours
AE 733Advanced Mechanics of Materials3
AE 737Mechanics of Damage Tolerance3
AE 831Continuum Mechanics3
AE 853Advanced Mechanics of Laminated Composites3
BME 779Tissue Engineering3
IME 755Design of Experiments3
IME 758Analysis of Manufacturing Processes3
ME 651Biomaterials3
ME 660Polymer Materials and Engineering3
ME 667Mechanical Properties of Materials3
ME 673Recovery of Engineering Materials3
ME 728Advanced Electronic Materials3
ME 752Failure Analysis Methods and Tools3
ME 753Advanced Materials for Energy Systems3
ME 760Fracture Mechanics3
ME 844Advanced Biomaterials3
ME 859Introduction to Molecular Simulations3
ME 862Synthesis and Applications of Nanomaterials3
ME 865Corrosion Science Engineering3
BME 890Independent Study 11-3
ME 890Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering 11-3
1

Upon approval of Graduate Program Coordinator.

Applied Learning

Students in the MS in materials engineering program are required to complete an applied learning (AL) or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by one of the following options:

  1. Completion of a course that has been designated as an approved applied learning course from the following list. This list will be updated at the beginning of each semester.
    1. AE 853 Advanced Mechanics of Laminated Composites 
    2. AE 737 Mechanics of Damage Tolerance
    3. ME 672 Manufacturing of Composites/ ME 672L Manufacturing of Composites Lab
    4. ME 762 Polymeric Composite Materials
    5. ME 862 Synthesis and Applications of Nanomaterials
    6. IME 788 Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing
    7. ME 728 Advanced Electronic Materials 
    8. ME 859 Introduction to Molecular Simulations 
  2. Completion of an approved semester-long (fall, spring or summer) graduate internship or cooperative education through one of the options listed below. The program coordinator must approve the relevance of this activity, prior to registration. In addition, the students will have to submit a technical report, detailing their Co-op experiences, after the completion of internship or Co-op.
    1. ME 781A and ME 781P – Cooperative Education (experiential): 1 credit
    2. IME 781 and IME 781P – Cooperative Education (experiential): 1 credit
    3. AE 760AL Nonthesis Option Applied Learning Activity (experiential): 0 credit
  3. Presentation of a class project or term paper from a list of approved courses taken at WSU (that meet the first five of the six applied learning components) in one of the following events/platforms. A list of these courses will be provided here and updated as necessary at the beginning of each semester.
    1. WSU annual Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) symposium;
    2. College of Engineering Open House;
    3. An approved professional societies’ local chapter meeting (e.g., SAMPE, AIAA, ASME, SME, etc.);
    4. Departmental Open Houses, where the engineering professionals from outside WSU (e.g., from industry) are present;
    5. Departmental or College of Engineering Colloquium/Seminar (e.g., ME 777 and IME 777);
    6. Any approved technical symposiums, expositions or technical conferences; or
    7. An annual technical symposium may be available each year, where students from the MS in materials engineering program can present one of their class projects or term papers.
  4. Obtaining an approved professional certificate from one of the relevant professional societies, organizations, national labs, leading/major industrial entities, etc.
  5. Completion of a 1-credit MS Directed Project (approved by the graduate coordinator) from one of the engineering departments (e.g., AE 878, IME 878 and ME 878) working with a faculty on materials related project.